Robinson, a student actor at West Texas A&M University, stars as Oberon, king of the fairies, in the upcoming production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” opening Thursday.

But Oberon’s band of mischief-makers aren’t delicate forest dwellers.

“One thing I’m enjoying in the rehearsal process is trying to figure out these nonhuman characteristics and how to get them across to the audience. It’s a whole different world,” Robinson said.

“There’s a lot of movement — animalistic,” he said. “It’s something in nature as opposed to strictly human. It’s even in the way we speak.”

That’s in keeping with director Stephen Crandall’s concept for the Shakespearean comedy — that a rigid group of humans are set free by their encounter in the woods with Oberon’s fairies. The humans live in a world devoid of color — and of life.

“What we see is a world that is very rigid, very structured. Slowly, we see their world start to crumble; the walls come down, and the lovers are left to find themselves in a new world,” Crandall said.

“The forest is the place where convention ... deteriorates, and we see them become human beings fighting each other for love and passion.”

That rigidity is shown not just through the set’s initial white box shape, but also in the humans’ costumes.

“When we started talking about this show, we were figuring out who the characters are. ... They’re so rigid, so set in their ways, so sure that they’re right. Then, they go into the forest and discover themselves,” costume designer Anne Medlock said. “So we started talking about the time period (to set it in): What’s the most rigid? Victorian.”

Thus, the humans start the show covered from head to toe in white, but the more time they spend with the fairies, the more color starts breaking through.

“It’s displayed really well in the clothing,” said actress Julia Rucker, who plays Hermia. “Once we start to shed them, blue comes through, and we relax.”

Crandall is also looking for a dreamlike atmosphere, embodying the play’s title and the final monologue from Puck, played by Sam Green.

“If we shadows have offended / Think but this, and all is mended / That you have but slumbered here / While these visions did appear,” Puck says as the curtains get ready to close.

“From the beginning,” Crandall said, “my intention in the show dealt with the idea of dreaming and the illogical and fantastical side of that.”